


Love Is Blindness

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Curse Breaking, Curses, Demon Deals, Demons, Enemies to Lovers, Fantasy, Gorgons (Hellenistic Religion & Lore), Light Angst, M/M, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 13:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18074369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Long ago, there was a prince, who suffered a terrible curse- that anyone who gazed upon him would be turned to stoneHe was exiled from his kingdom, many warriors sent to murder him, but one warrior in particular, a great demon hunter from a distant land, realized that the gorgon was not a monster, not a demon, just a person, a man, who was all aloneJust like him





	Love Is Blindness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [venom_for_free](https://archiveofourown.org/users/venom_for_free/gifts).



> Another one for Venom, based on her amazing gorgon!Atem art <3
> 
> The title is from the Jack White song, "Love Is Blindness", from The Great Gatsby

Long, long ago, there was a peacefull, happy king and his wife

They lived in a large kingdom that was experiencing a time of great quiet and peace

The king and his wife were happy, for the most part, but there was something they lacked, something that they had wanted for many years, yet would not come to them

They wished for a child

The king asked the gods time and time again to bless them with a child, but still they did not conceive

After years and years of this, the king had finally had enough

He was tired of being ignored by the gods, and decided to ask for help from a devil instead

He called forth a demon, and begged for the child that the gods refused to give him

"Oh my dear king," the demon had said

"Gifting you with a child is no easy task, it requires a great amount of power on my part.... and a great amount of sacrifice on your's,"

"I don't care, I don't care what the price is, I want a child, I want an heir!" the king declared with ferocity

"Then a child you shall have.... but, at the cost of one hundred souls each year,"

The king was taken aback by this demand, he had expected to pay the price with his own soul, but... the souls of others?

"Oh don't worry my king," the demon assured him

"I ask not for the souls of _innocents_ , those are no fun, I only want the souls of the guilty, kill one hundred evil souls each year in my name, and I will grant you the most perfect child you could imagine, a son, an heir, he will be _everything_ you've ever wished for.... but, be warned, young king, that if you should ever fall short on your promise by even one soul, your son will suffer a face worse than death,"

The king, arrogant and confident that he could uphold his end of the deal, agreed to the demon's terms, and nine months later, his wife gave birth to a beautifull baby boy, who they named Atem

Atem was beloved by all, there wasn't a soul in the kingdom who didn't adore him

He was kind and gentle, but also brave and adventurous, he had a love for all those in his kingdom, and the people felt confident that when he grew to be king, he would be the best they ever had

A thought that was becoming increasingly held as the prince grew older... and as the king grew more and more ruthless

At first finding evil souls hadn't been difficult, but over time, as crime lessened and as more and more souls were sacrificed, it became more and more difficult, and the stadard for what the king believed was "evil" became looser and looser

It started with murderers and rapists, but over time, began to include common theives, swindlers, and even merely those who spoke ill of the king

By the time the prince reached his sixteenth year, the people had begun to fear and hate the king, and the king had begun to grow desperate for evil souls to sacrifice

It was in this desperation that he chose to execute a young girl who was merely suspected of stealing an apple

There was no proof, and the girl pleaded her innocence, but the king had his mind made up

The girl, however, was not a mere common theif

Unbeknownst to the king, she was the daughter of a witch

The witch became enraged by her daughter's death, and charged the palace

Despite the king's efforts, his human army was no match for raw, rage-fueled magic, and in no time at all, the witch had murdered both the king and queen

At first, the witch's intention had been to leave the prince an orphan so that he may take the throne, and perhaps right the wrongs his father had caused, but when she stormed through the palace and found the prince, she discovered that he was no longer the sweet, innocent boy the kingdom had known- atleast, not on the outside

His exotic red, blonde, and black hair had turned into a nest of snakes, his beautifull crimson eyes had turned stark white, and when he heard her gasp and turned to look at her, she turned to stone

The prince had never known of his father's deal with the demon, he had always been sheltered and turned away from it

He was suffering the consequences now

What the king had never realized about his deal with the demon, was the intensity of the terms

There was no real "winning" at this deal, his son had been doomed from the start, for once the king died, he was no longer able to continue making sacrifices to the demon, and as he was no longer able to hold up his end of the deal, the demon enacted the promised curse on the young prince

Word spread of the scandal quickly, and within a few days, the entire kingdom knew of the king's death, and believed that the prince had become a demon

The prince was chased out of the palace, and out of his own kingdom, running to a cave in the mountains, not only to protect himself, but also to protect his subjects

He had learned the hard way that his gaze could turn people to stone, and he never wanted to be responsible for such an atrocity again

Unfortunately, however, the people of the kingdom were not so quick to let him go

They believed that their prince had died that night, at the hands of the witch, and that it was now a demon who possessed his body

They believed that the only way for the prince's soul to gain peace was to kill the demon inhabiting his body, and protect themselves from the evil entity that had turned the witch to stone

They sent their feircest warriors after the demon, but none ever returned

Realizing that they could not keep this up, could not keep sacrificing their best fighters to a demon that could kill them with a mere gaze, they decided that the only choice left was to seek help from another source

There were ofcourse, many legends of soldiers, mercenaries, and heroes from other lands who won great wars, slayed feirce beasts, and killed fearsome demons, but there was one in particular who's name was not spoken so highly of

One who was known for ruthlessness, who had never lost a battle yet

Only one of kingdom residents had even heard his name spoken before, but she persisted that if they had any chance of slaying the demon who had possessed their prince's body, it must be this warrior that they find

And so, after three years of sending their own knights and soldiers, and another two of searching for this mysterious warrior, they finally summoned him to their kingdom, promising him as much treasure as they could scavenge from the empty palace, as a reward for taking on this devil, this evil entity who had claimed their kind prince's body

They warned him of the demon's unholy powers, and the warrior went in prepared

"I will bring you the head of the demon," he promised

"I will help you lay your prince to rest,"

The warrior tredded carefully through the mountains, until he finally came upon the cave that the demon was said to live in

He could see evidence of this, with stone statues of former victims decorating the outside of the den

With narrowed eyes, the warrior fished his blindfold out from his belt and wrapped it around his eyes, knowing that the only way to fight a creature who could kill him with a look, was simply not to look at it at all

He stepped into the cave slowly, his sword at the ready, listening for any sounds of movement, but he heard nothing

Frowning tensely, he strained harder to hear something, _anything_ , even just the sound of breathing, but there was utter silence

Until-

"Have you come to kill me too then?"

Spinning around, he aimed his sword forward, waiting for the creature to charge him, but there was no movement, and he questioned if the demon was even near enough for him to get a swing at anyhow

"Yes, Demon, I have come for your head, so that the prince who's body you possess may finally find peace,"

"Possess? I do not _possess **anyone**_! I _AM_ the prince! I am not a demon, I've been cursed! .. But, as there is seemingly no way to _break_ this curse..."

The warrior inhaled sharply, feeling his sword being moved suddenly, the tip now resting against something soft and firm

"Go ahead, kill me,"

"You will not trick me, Demon!"

"It isn't a trick, I urge you, kill me, so that my kingdom may finally move on and have the peace they deserve,"

For a moment, the longest moment, the warrior was still, before moving his sword down slowly, sensing the curves of the demon's body beneath the tip of his blade, from the base of his throat, down his chest, to his belly...

He stayed still

So the warrior withdrew his sword, slowly, and only slightly, still poised to attack, but no longer actively pressing the blade into the demon's flesh

"If you care so little for your life, why did you kill the other warriors who came before me?"

"I didn't mean to! My gaze kills them.... they are the ones who approach me, who attack me, at first I tried to defend myself, but that was long ago, ever since, my looking at them has come about by accident, reflex, their seeing my reflection in their swords... besides, the last warrior to come here was years ago, I have matured since then, and made peace with death, when before I feared it, so please, noble soldier, kill me, so that my people can find peace once more,"

There was a stutter in his breath

His words were clear, but his breathing was heavy

Narrowing his eyes behind the cloth, the warrior shifted his sword aside again, and reached out, his fingers carefully pressing into the demon's throat, then trailing up his face, feeling dampness against his cheek

Tears....

Demons could not cry, it was impossible, even when they were possessing a human host, so then.... this creature could not be a demon

"You say you're ready to die and yet you mourn for yourself, if you're crying, you're not ready,"

"Then tell me what else I'm supposed to do!" the prince shouted, his voice cracking miserably as he gently but firmly batted the stranger's hand away

"I cannot keep living like this! I'm alone, _entirely_! Not even animals can come near me! Yet I cannot return to any form of civilization or even have a freind for if I stare at them, I'll kill them!"

For a long, long moment, the warrior was quiet, before finally moving his hand out towards the other again

"Close your eyes," he demanded, waiting a beat, before dragging his fingertips upwards, feeling the bulge of the creature's eyes beneath their lids, and carefully cupping his hand over them

With his free hand, he pulled his blindfold free, finally able to open his eyes and see, and feeling himself flinch at the sight of the nest of snakes hissing and squirming atop the stranger's head

But he wasn't detoured, and in fact, now that he could see the prince, he determined that the gorgon was actually quite beautifull

"Keep them closed," he demanded, moving the cloth carefully over the prince's eyes and tying it securely behind his head

"A blindfold?" the prince huffed in disbeleif

"You think I can return to my kingdom wearing a _blindfold_ and everything will be ok?"

"No, but... I will help you search for a way to break your curse, and in the mean time, I'll stay with you, you said you don't have any freinds, well.... neither do I,"

"... You're joking, aren't you?"

"Why would I?"

"Yes, why would you? Why would you give up your life to help me? Why would you care? Why would you do _any_ of this?"

"Maybe some day I'll tell you, but for now, shouldn't you just be happy to accept my offer?"

The prince was clearly conflicted, but eventually gave his head a slow nod of acceptance

"Alright, I accept, there's just one thing I need,"

"And what would that be?"

"Your name, what do I call you?"

The warrior's lips twitched up into something resembling a smirk, before slowly sheathing his sword

"Seto Kaiba, and you?"

"Atem," the cursed prince replied

"I am Atem,"

 

~+~

 

For months, rumors circulated about what fate had befallen the warrior who the kingdom sent to kill the demon

Many assumed that he, too, had been turned to stone, but others wasn't so sure

Others insisted that it was not death that took hold of the warrior, but fear, assuming that he had run off upon seeing the ghastly appearance of the demon from behind

Finally, they decided to send yet another soldier in his place, this one yet again a prized mercenary from another land

He accepted the job with eagerness, and began his own journey into the mountains

Unbeknownst to the people of the kingdom, however, the warrior they had sent before had not run away, nor had he fallen to death

Rather, he had fallen _in love_

Spending the last few months with Atem, Seto had found himself beginning to love the prince

The blindfold method he had come up with worked well enough, and when Atem needed to see something, Seto merely put his own blindfold on

It was an exercise in trust like no other, but they found that it worked for them

Seto left most afternoons to gather food, firewood, and other supplies, as well as information that may help break the curse

But so far, they had come up rather empty-handed in that department

As much as they yearned for the curse to be broken, they were in no real hurry

They had come to enjoy their lives, for once, and certainly had begun to enjoy eachother's company

They spent much of their days simply talking to eachother, or enjoying the silence, learning about eachother and learning about magic, making love both blindfolded- for extra security, in case one of them were to lose their blindfold breifly in the blissfull chaos

They had fallen in love with eachother

And that, they would soon learn, could be a very dangerous thing, when one of them was veiwed as a monster...

The warrior that Atem's kingdom had sent to slay him arrived at night

He walked quietly, armed with a bow and arrow, so he wouldn't have to get too close to the beast

He walked through the cave with nothing but a small torch to light his way, and when he finally found where the demon was sleeping, he found himself shocked to see that the creature had a mate

Deciding that perhaps the man beside the demon was being held captive, the warrior drew an arrow from his quiver, determined to end this reign of terror once and for all

The sound, however, slight as it was, was enough to wake the brunette laying beside the demon

And when Seto opened his eyes beneath the blindfold, he could see a hint of light... but the sun shouldn't reach this far back in the cave, and Atem had adjusted over the years to be able to see in complete darkness...

"ATEM!!" he screamed, reaching out and ripping the blindfold off of his partner as quickly as he could

At that instant, the prince gasped awake, his eyes blinking open right as the arrow was let loose from it's bow

Thankfully, the warrior had been just caught off guard enough to miss the prince's heart, and the arrow peirced his shoulder instead, ripping a cry of pain from the gorgon as he stared up into the eyes of the stranger, watching in horror as yet another person was turned to stone by his gaze

Atem shook, trembled, as tears stung his eyes, but there was nothing he could do now

The damage was already done

 

~+~

 

"This isn't working anymore," Seto noted, wrapping the bandage a little tighter around his partner's injured shoulder

"I know," Atem breathed quietly, his head hung low, the blindfold back in place now

"You almost died, I can't let that happen again,"

"Me? _You_ almost died, _I_ can't let _that_ happen again," Atem corrected with a frown

"However you want to phrase it.... you need to be able to see again, keeping you blindfolded is... forcing you to be helpless, your eyes are your only protection, and it's clear that people are going to keep trying to kill you, you need to be able to fight back,"

"I don't _want_ to-"

"You need to be able to defend yourself," Seto repeated, a bit more loudly this time

"So.... you're going to have to stop wearing the blindfold."

"You can't wear one all the time Seto, it's too risky, if it slips even _once_ \- ... I can't let that happen, I-"

"I know, that wasn't what I was suggesting,"

For a moment, just a moment, there was silence before they both spoke again

_"You should leave-"_ **"I'm going to blind myself,"**

A pause, a beat, before-

_**"What!?"** _

"Seto you cannot-!"

"I won't leave you!"

"And I won't let you blind yourself! What are you talking about!?"

"I am not leaving you," he repeated with strong determination, his jaw tense as he snipped the bandages and fastened them in place

"Well I'm not going to let you.... what? Stab your eyes out!?"

"It won't be that bad-"

"Yes it will!! I would sooner kill myself than allow that to happen so don't even try it!"

"Atem-"

"I mean it! Don't be so damn dramatic!"

Once more, they were silenced, neither knowing where to go from here, each as stubborn as the other

"Then there's only one solution, we break the curse,"

 

~+~

 

Now in more of a hurry than ever, the pair decided that looking outwardly for a cure would be of no use

They needed to look inwards, to find the demon who had cursed Atem to begin with, and to do that, Seto decided, they would simply make the same prayer that Atem's father had made nearly twenty years ago

The prince may not have been privy to knowledge of the curse, or that he had been the result of a pact with a demon, or of the price that was being constantly paid for his very existence, but the king had always told his son that he was a miracle

That they had tried for many, many years to conceive a child, and that Atem's birth had been the most blessed thing to happen in the history of the king

One night during their pillow talks, Atem had mentioned this story to Seto, and they began to put the peices together

Seto called out one evening to the dark spirits, asked for a demon who could give them a child, and moments later, one appeared

He had long white hair, and dark grey eyes, with dark copper skin and a scar going down one side of his face

He wore a smirk, haughty and arrogant, and Seto hated him immediately

"You wish for a child?" the demon asked

"Where is your bride, then?"

"I have no bride, I have a husband,"

The demon seemed only moderately surprised by this, before crossing his arms over his chest and chuckling low in his throat

"Then the price has risen even higher, granting children is always a deeply taxing and pricey business, but to create a womb where there is not one? That will be even more difficult,"

"I'll keep that in mind," Seto said simply

"When I actually decide to ask for a child,"

In an instant, Atem- who had been waiting in the shadows at Seto's request- took a torch from the wall and tossed it at the alter, the flames going up around the demon and trapping him successfully in a demon's trap

"Oh I see," he chuckled, turning his gaze back to Atem, a grin on his face as he stared at the blind-folded gorgon across from him

"I remember you, you are the son of the king who prayed to me two decades ago, hard to forget an incident such as that one,"

"Yes, you cursed an innocent child for the sins of his father, and now it's time to *release* him from that curse," Seto demanded immediately

"You think you can make demands of me? Foolish mortal, what makes you believe I would ever release someone from a curse without it benefiting me?" the demon scoffed

"How about the fact that you have no choice? If you _don't_ release him, you'll die as consequence," Seto replied with confidence

" _You_? Kill _me_? Don't make me laugh! You think your tiny sword can take down a _demon_?"

"Oh, I never said _I_ would kill you," Seto smirked, stepping behind Atem and unfastening the blindfold

"Even demons succumb to his gaze, don't they? You're trapped here, you can't run, you can't hide, you can do nothing until we release you, and you can't keep your eyes closed for the next fifty years,"

The demon sneered, looking away immediately, even though Atem still currently had his eyes closed

"It's simple, Demon, release Atem, and I will release _you_ ,"

"You really think it's that easy?"

"I know it is,"

The demon gritted his teeth, but kept his eyes closed, more or less confirming that he was, indeed, affected by Atem's gaze just as any mortal was

"Fine, but you're going to regret this, I will not let you go free, you will pay for this some day," he snarled

"We'll be waiting," Seto promised, his arm wrapping around Atem's waist, squeezing him gently as the demon snapped his fingers

And in a flash of light, as though lightening had struck from the sky, pouring around the prince, the snakes turned back into locks of hair, the white in his eyes sank back into bright red, and when he stared into Seto's eyes, he saw nothing but blue

No grey, no stone, nothing but blue

They kissed, happy and relieved, staring into eachother's eyes for the first time and relishing in the sight

"Would you let me go now?" the demon snarled

Seto turned away from the prince for a moment, picking up his sword and taking a step closer

"The people of the kingdom below us hired me to kill the demon who took their prince from them,"

And with that, he thrusted the sword forward, into the demon's chest

"I have to finish my task,"

"H-How...?" the demon coughed, blood spilling from his mouth as he stared down at the blade that had disappeared into his flesh

"When Seto and I were searching for a way to break my curse, we came up empty-handed.... but we found something _else_ ," Atem began

"A way to trap and kill demons," Seto concluded

"This... was your plan all along!?"

"Yes, it seems that two of us can play the loophole game,"

"I said I would release you, not that I wouldn't kill you, and I never said that I _would_ kill you... but I never said that I _wouldn't_ either," Seto added, his foot moving forward, clearing a line in the salt circle that he had crafted, effectively releasing the demon from his bonds

Unfortunately for him, however, it was too late, and when Seto pulled his sword free of the demon's body, his corpse fell to the ground, dead

The sword clattered to the ground after the body, and Seto and Atem shared their second kiss with their eyes open

 

~+~

 

The prince returned to his throne, after that day, and became the king of the nation

He explained to his people what had happened, and apologized for his father's choices, and his own mistakes

Those who he had turned to stone were still stone, but Atem had alters built in their honor, and he visited their statues often to pay his respects and apologies

Seto became king-regent at his side, the two living a long, peacefull reign in wedded bliss

And when it came time for them to produce heirs, they decided to take in orphaned children, instead of asking for assistance from demons

They had had more than enough of _that_ to last them a lifetime


End file.
